App-based taxi aggregator Uber is all set to launch it services in seven new cities from July 2. The roll out for Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Mysore, Nagpur, Surat and Visakhapatnam will be the largest number of new international cities the San Francisco-based startup has ever launched simultaneously. With the launch Uber will be available in 18 cities in the sub-continent. It will also make India its largest geographic market outside the US. Uber has been mired in controversy in India, especially in New Delhi where two drivers working under the service are facing trial over charges of sexual harassment. However, Uber is clearly using women's security as a USP with the new launch. "Uber will create tens of thousands of jobs, help decongest roads, improve the safety, quality and convenience of transportation, foster entrepreneurship at the grassroots, and give women flexible, equitable earning opportunities, and help law enforcement authorities harness the power of technology to make roads safer," a release said. “We’re thrilled to launch Uber in these new cities marking the start of the next chapter in our journey in India. The rapid 40% MoM growth we continue to see in India is unprecedented and it is not surprising that some of the fastest growing cities in the world are also here,” said Neeraj Singhal, Head of Expansion for India & the Subcontinent, Uber. Coinciding with the launch, Uber is offering new users three free rides worth Rs 200 each before July 15, 2015.
